Pros And Cons Of The British Massacre

In years leading up to the Revolutionary War, tensions had already begun to rise between the Colonists and British authorities. British governments attempted to tax the colonies in hopes of raising revenue. Most notably the Stamp Act imposed a tax on all paper

Great Britain was taking an excessive amount of money from the colonists. They were in debt from the Seven Years War and they needed money. So their solution was to tax the colonists because they thought that they owned them at least that (Document 1). They were taxing them on ridiculous things, like the Stamp Act, Currency Act, and the Sugar Act. They were also taxing them on trade, so they had to pay a fee when imported and exporting goods. This trade tax was used to raise revenue for Great Britain (Document 2). They were imposing ridiculous taxes on the colonists and they were tired of it.

During late 18th century America, there was much debate regarding the topic of the where the American colonies should stand: with Britain, or separate from them. The British crown, along with parliament, continuously imposed taxes upon the colonies and with each tax imposed the colonists grew increasingly angrier. Some might say that the British government behaved as a tyrant towards their American subjects. Opposing, there still was the debate that the British were justified for the taxes they imposed and their “tyrant’ behavior since they had supported the colonies in the French-Indian War and for many other reasons. While the British did have a good argument regarding their justification of their taxes and behavior the colonies were the

The new taxes greatly angered the colonists. The parliament did not follow the law “Taxation without Representation” which basically states that the colonists have the right to send a representative. The stamp act was a law that required colonists to pay for anything that requires a stamp. This is a great example of why these taxes were unjust because it did not follow the saying “Taxation without representation”. Document 2 says, “Levying money upon us” meaning the tax was imposed on the colonists without representation. The colonies considered these taxes to be unconstitutional which caused riots and boycotting against the government. Document 10 explains the stamp act being unjust, “...The stamp act...a very burdensome and, in our opinion, unconstitutional tax is to be laid upon us.” Another unjust law that was enforced was the Quartering Act. This law forced the colonists to house their homes to soldiers. By that means they would have to feed them and provide their homes for them to sleep. According to

For many years, the American colonists have tried to fight for their independence from Britain. The British needed financial support because of the debt of the French-Indian war and looked towards the colonists. The British taxed in various acts including the Stamp Act and the Townshend Act, which taxed daily goods and all stamps. At the same time, the Boston Massacre and propaganda news was being spread causing even more uproar. All of this uproar, would have never happened if the British were justified for their actions.

In 1763 Britain was deeply in debt from protecting the colonies from war with France. Since Britain was protecting the American people from the french and indians they expected the American people to help pay for the high expense from war. Thinking the American people would surely agree they passed the first of many taxes in 1763, the stamp act. This tax imposed by British Parliament required Colonists to pay fees on many printed documents such as legal documents, diplomas, and even playing cards. The Colonists were outraged by these taxes. John adams said that the taxes were unconstitutional because the people did not consent to the taxes. Colonists protested by boycotting British goods and threatened violence on anyone who tried to collect

With the conflict between the British and the colonies intensifying over the rights of “taxation without representation”, both sides continued building more tension that lead up to the Boston Massacre. In this event, the British fired into a crowd of Boston Citizens killing five colonists and leading to a trial against the British soldiers. Now with the lack of the colonist 's concede to the British demands, this lead the colonist refusing to pay taxes on imported goods. Which lead to the next step towards the American Revolutionary War, and the defiance of property- The British Tea Party.

Many different factors led to the colonists revolt against the British. The most prominent reason being taxes and what rights the Crown had to over the colonies. The first taxes put into effect were the Sugar, Quartering, and Stamp Acts. The Stamp Act angered to colonists the most because it was the first direct tax against the colonies. The colonists protested these new taxes and argued that it was “taxation without representation.”

Beginning in 1764, Great Britain began passing acts to exert greater control over the American colonies. The Sugar Act was passed to increase duties on foreign sugar imported from the West Indies. A Currency Act was also passed to ban the colonies from issuing paper bills or bills of credit because of the belief that the colonial currency had devalued the British money. Further, in order to continue to support the British soldiers left in America after the war, Great Britain passed the Quartering Act in 1765. This ordered colonists to house and feed British soldiers if there was not enough room for them in the colonist’s homes. An important piece of legislation that really upset the colonists was the Stamp Act passed in 1765. This required stamps to be purchased or included on many different items and documents such as playing cards, legal papers, newspapers, and more. This was the first direct tax that Britain had imposed on the colonists. Events began to escalate with passage of the Townshend Acts in 1767. These taxes were created to help colonial officials become independent of the colonists by providing them with a source of income. This act led to clashes between British troops and colonists, causing the infamous Boston Massacre. These unjust requests and increasing tensions all led up to the colonist’s declaration as well as the Revolutionary War.

The Quartering Act made citizens in the colonies house and feed british soldiers. If the colonists weren't angry enough the crown made them pay taxes for printing things with ink, this was the Stamp Act. This made the colonists very angry.

After the French and Indian War, Britain fell into great debt due to the costs of the war. Thus, in order to solve their financial issues, Britain imposed taxes on the colonists, such as the Stamp Act, Townshend Act, and the Tea Act. However, the colonists were appalled by these taxes as they felt that they were not responsible for the debt nor the war, therefore, claiming that the British did not have the right to tax them. As a response to these new policies, the colonists held various rebellions, including the Boston Tea Party. However, despite being taxed by the British without representation, the British policies in the colonies were completely justified as the colonists in America were still part of the British empire, and were entirely responsible for the financial crisis in Britain.

The Colonists used propaganda to influence others to join in their rebel against England. They used the political cartoon of the snake, and the Boston Massacre engraving to make people believe that the British Government were the bad guys. By showing people cartoons of the separated colonies and the murders of colonists by British soldiers, the colonists were able to make people join the rebel against England. The images and cartoons that they used, though, were biased against England, which made it much easier for the colonists to influence people to join their side. The snake cartoon made the colonists believe that Britain was separating the colonies, not joining them together. Also, the Boston Massacre image made people believe that the soldiers fired into the crowd for no reason at all. Both of these are pieces of propaganda that

There were several acts that were passed without the consideration of the colonists that would force them to pay a ridiculous amount of taxes to the British mainland. One of these acts was named the Stamp Act, which was enacted in 1765, forced the colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper that they used. This would include legal documents, license, commercial contracts and newspapers in the tax. This tax mostly effected the wealthier and influential of the colonists and would force them to unite in opposition. There were several other acts that would be passed that would force the colonists to pay undue taxes to the British, such as the Quartering Act and the Tea

Anglicization of the Britain’s American colonies was a big event for the course of not only American or British history, but world history. The colonists adopting many British ways and becoming very patriotic towards the “mother country” had a large effect on the events that unfolded in the late 18th century. While it is true that the American colonists were incredibly British during the beginning to the mid-18th century, the colonies had been around long enough to develop their own culture and way of doing things. The series of events and acts that were imposed on the colonists post French and Indian War got the ball rolling on what came to be known as the American Revolution. The colonists were so fed up with the way in which the British were tightening their hold on the colonies to the point where they were driven to rebellion. The combination of British and underlying American ideals in the pre-revolution era were a necessarily pre-requisite and important component of what would become the American Revolution.

     There was another by-product of the war for Britain; her national debt more than doubled during the course of the conflict. At a time when Britain was starting to bend beneath the weight of the debt, it was only a matter of time before parliament looked to the colonies to help shoulder some of the price incurred in their defense. The Sugar and Stamp Acts were the first of many measures to tax the colonists. The Townshend Duties and the Tea Act would follow. While these measures outraged the colonists because of their monetary implications, it was the constitutional implications brought on by the Acts that were most offensive to the colonists. Until after the Seven Years War, the colonists had been left to essentially tax themselves. Now the colonists had a rallying cry, as they deplored the idea of no taxation without representation. In 1765 the Stamp Act Congress was held, and in a bid of utter defiance the representatives agreed that the colonial legislative assemblies alone had the right to tax the colonies. Parliament repealed the Stamp Act, but only after agreeing to pass the Declaratory Act, which informed the colonies that Britain did in fact have the right to legislate for the